KARACHI: Sindh Information Minister Syed Nasir Hussain Shah has warned the federal government that it will be responsible in case of massive protests against unannounced and prolonged power cuts if electricity loadshedding was not stopped.

Addressing a press conference along with Senator Aajiz Dhamra at Karachi Press Club on Friday, the minister said that on the one hand electricity was not being supplied and on the other the people of Sindh were being dubbed as ‘thieves’.

The ‘martial law’ of loadshedding has been imposed in Sindh in the sacred month of Ramazan-ul-Mubarak and people had been left to face water crisis along with loadshedding, he added.

He said PPP senators and the members of the National Assembly had also raised their voice against loadshedding after which the relevant minister regretted the situation. He said his party raised voice against loadshedding on every platform, but the ministers in federal cabinet were ‘incompetent’.

Mr Shah said that if unannounced and prolonged loadshedding was not stopped in Sindh, massive protest would be lodged.

He warned the federal government that it would be responsible for whatever happened during the protests.

Drawing media attention towards excesses of K-Electric, the minister said they had shared their concerns with the KE management which had given assurance to them about bringing improvement in the situation.

In response to a question, he said that electricity being produced by the Nooriabad power plant would be added to the K-Electric grid for distribution.

Senator Dhamra said that the PPP had lodged protest against loadshedding throughout the province. The federal government had been claiming elimination of loadshedding for the past four years but every year the situation only worsened.

In response to a question, Mr Shah said there was no truth in reports about change of the chief minister in Sindh and expressed hope that Syed Murad Ali Shah would continue to be the chief minister even after the general elections next year.

Published in Dawn, June 3rd, 2017